Agca credits Vatican

Agca will be set free on parole by Turkish prison officials on Thursday, January 12. He has been serving out an earlier jail sentence in Turkey since being pardoned by Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in 2000.

In a letter sent to the Italian daily La Repubblica, Agca offers his "deepest gratitude and respect to the Pope for helping to secure my release." The newspaper also quotes Agca’s brother as saying that the Vatican has offered to guarantee the safety of the would-be assassin, whose family has said that his life will be in danger after his release from jail.

Vatican officials have said that the Holy See was not involved– in fact, not consulted– before a Turkish court ordered Agca’s release. Although Pope John Paul II said that he had forgiven his assailant, Church spokesmen have stressed that the decision to pardon Agca in 2000 was made by President Ciampi himself, without interference from the Vatican. It is true, however, that Pope John Paul encouraged acts of clemency for prisoners during the Jubilee Year, and raised no objection when the possibility of a pardon for Agca was suggested.

Agca himself has not been a reliable witness. Over the years since 1981 his explanations of the attempted assassination, of his religious beliefs, and of his relationship with Pope John Paul have been inconsistent and frequently contradictory.